Trump's lawyers are asking the Supreme Court to “temporarily halt” the federal court's ruling in the District of Columbia. In the meantime, Trump could appeal the court's ruling, perhaps also to the Supreme Court.
Last Tuesday, the Federal Court in the District of Columbia ruled that Trump does not have presidential immunity and could be tried on charges of interfering in the 2020 presidential election and storming the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Trump previously stated that he could not be tried in that case because the charges related to the period in which he was president. According to the judge in the District of Columbia, this immunity has expired.
“In this case, former President Trump has become a Trump citizen,” the court wrote. He added, “The immunity that would have protected him when he was president no longer protects him from prosecution.”
A lower US court issued the same ruling in December. Trump appealed the ruling in federal court.
Trump leans toward the Supreme Court
Now Trump decides to go to the US Supreme Court to temporarily “stop” the ruling. The Supreme Court includes the nine highest-ranking judges in the country. Six of them are conservative and three are progressive. Three of the conservative judges were appointed by Trump himself.
The case against Trump, accused of obstructing the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and his role in storming the Capitol, is scheduled to begin on March 4. But the judge hearing the case recently postponed the case indefinitely.
If Trump is found guilty, he will likely be barred from running for office in the 2024 presidential election. But if the case is delayed until after the presidential election, Trump could suspend investigations into him if he becomes president.
